Apple's US Mac production to go beyond assembly

We've heard more about Apple's plans to start building some Macs in the United States, thanks to a Reuters news post that delved into the remarks made by Apple CEO Tim Cook to NBC's Rock Center program. It appears that the initiative is not just limited to assembly of new Macs, but will include investment in building many of the components on American soil as well.

Apple won't be building all of those components, but will be investing money in US manufacturers to help them ramp up production for Apple and other companies. Some analysts scoffed at the announcement, saying it is only a public relations stunt that won't provide all that many jobs. But Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross said that wages and other costs for product assembly in China have risen sharply in past years, erasing much of the advantage of the Chinese plants. Cross also noted that building devices in the US mitigates the risk of intellectual property theft.

Apple isn't the only company that has announced that it's moving production to the US -- Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo announced that it will be doing some manufacturing in North Carolina. But Apple is viewed as an industry leader, so a move like this might have more far-reaching effects on bringing manufacturing and jobs back to the US.